According to the report, if current trends persist, 351 million women and girls will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030. The UN warns this outcome is not inevitable but rather “a political choice”.

With just five years left to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new United Nations report has warned that the world is “alarmingly off-track” on gender equality, placing millions of women and girls at risk of being left behind.

The Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: Gender Snapshot 2025, released jointly by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) this week, highlights stark setbacks in poverty reduction, political participation, safety, and access to essential services for women and girls worldwide

Rising Poverty and Inequality

According to the report, if current trends persist, 351 million women and girls will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030. The UN warns this outcome is not inevitable but rather “a political choice,” shaped by systemic neglect, underinvestment, and a rollback of commitments to equality.

While some progress has been recorded, setbacks from climate change, escalating conflicts, economic shocks, and a growing backlash against women’s rights are erasing hard-won gains. Women’s labour force participation, for example, rose slightly from 62.8 per cent in 2015 to 64.5 per cent in 2024, yet structural barriers such as pay gaps, caregiving burdens, and occupational segregation persist

Violence and Harmful Practices Persist

The report paints a grim picture of women’s safety. Globally, one in eight women aged 15–49 experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past year. In Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), the rate rises to nearly one in three.

Meanwhile, child marriage continues to affect nearly one in five young women aged 20–24, with the highest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Over 230 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation, with four million more at risk each year

Limited Progress in Leadership

Women’s representation in decision-making remains stalled. By August 2025, only 29 countries had a woman serving as head of state or government, a modest increase from 22 five years ago.

In parliaments worldwide, women hold just 27.2 per cent of seats, and their share of managerial positions remains stuck at around 30 per cent – a pace that would take nearly a century to achieve parity.

Gaps in Access to Basic Services

The snapshot reveals that basic necessities remain out of reach for many women. More than one in four women and girls lack access to safely managed drinking water, while over two in five lack safe sanitation.

Energy access also remains a critical barrier. By 2030, an estimated 321 million women will still lack electricity and 896 million women will lack clean cooking fuels and technologies. The report notes that achieving universal access to clean cooking by 2030 requires $8 billion in annual investments but would generate 24 times the return in health, productivity, and climate benefits

Power of Energy Access – Lessons from India

The report underscores how access to energy can transform gender outcomes. It cites research from India showing that a one-hour increase in community electricity in rural areas leads to declines in gender-based violence and a 0.6 percentage-point increase in contraceptive use

Similar benefits are observed elsewhere: in Brazil, rural women with electricity access earn 59 per cent more income, while studies in sub-Saharan Africa link electricity to higher female school enrolment and life expectancy.

Yet, despite these gains, women remain underrepresented in the energy sector itself, accounting for just 32 per cent of the renewable energy workforce and a mere 5 per cent of utility board members.

Digital Divide and Data Deficits

The digital revolution is leaving millions of women behind. Globally, 70 per cent of men use the internet compared to 65 per cent of women, with the gap especially pronounced in least developed countries

Closing this divide could lift 30 million women and girls out of poverty by 2050 and contribute $1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Yet digital access and skills training for women remain underfunded.

The report also warns of a looming crisis in gender data. Nearly seven in ten national statistics offices reported funding cuts since January 2025, threatening the collection of sex-disaggregated data crucial for monitoring progress. Without this data, governments risk flying blind on policies for gender equality

Conflict and Climate Pressures

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises. In 2024 alone, 676 million women lived within 50 kilometres of armed conflict, the highest figure since the 1990s. Conflicts also exacerbate sexual violence, with women and girls comprising 92 per cent of victims in conflict zones

Climate change adds another layer of vulnerability. Women often shoulder primary responsibility for water, fuel, and food collection, making them acutely exposed to resource scarcity and environmental shocks.

Urgent Action Needed

The report comes as the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, the most comprehensive global blueprint for women’s rights. It warns that without bold investments, strengthened partnerships, and systemic reforms, the 2030 goals on gender equality will be missed.

“Gender equality is not an ideology. It is foundational for peace, development, and human rights,” the report stresses

UN Women urges governments to prioritize six areas for accelerated action, including digital inclusion, freedom from poverty, political participation, and investment in clean energy.

As the world enters the final stretch toward 2030, the Gender Snapshot makes clear that progress is possible – but only if commitments are matched by action.